Venetian blind



Dec. 28, 1937. w. WADE ET A1.

VENETIAN BLIND Filed -JaIL 28, .1937

Patented Dec. 28, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFicE VENETIAN BLIND Application January 28, 1937, Serial No. 122,794

12 Claims.

This invention relates to Venetian blinds and supporting and operating mechanism therefor, the present disclosures being in part a continuation ofthe matter disclosed in applicants copending application Serial No. 122,793, led Jan. 28, 1937.

Generally stated, it is an object of the present invention to provide -a novel supporting means for a blind structure, and one which may be readily installed and which will facilitate the quick and effortless mounting of the main blind unit in. its operative position.

Moreparticularly stated, the invention provides among its other objects, novel bracket members adapted for attachment to a window casing and -having a main blind-supporting carriage removably mounted therebetween with pin-andslot engagement between the brackets and carriage, which permits a limited sliding movement or translation of the latter between the brackets se that variations in window width may be compensated.

A still more specific object is the provision of a supporting carriage having a pivoted roller housing with lug formations adaptedl to t into elongated slots in a mounting bracket so as to permit limited axial movement of the carriage between the sides of the window while at the same time preventing lateral displacement of the carriage from the brackets.

Other `advantages and novel aspects of the l invention will` appear as the following description proceeds in view of the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a, front elevation of the blind supporting means;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective fragment of the carriage, roller housing and bracket;

Fig. 3 is an. enlarged horizontal section through the bracket but showing the interior of the housing in plan, the View being taken along lines 3--3 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical side section through the housing and rollers and is taken Valong lines 4--4 of Fig; 3;

Fig. 5 is anenlarged horizontal section throng the housing and pay hole and is taken along lines 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the housing along line 6 of Fig. 3 looking into the pay hole; while Fig. 7 is a perspective fragment of the rim and slot pivotal mounting for the right-hand end of the carriage.

As seen in Fig. 1, the blind assembly includes a main bracket I0 and a second bracket I2 attached to the respective upper corner portions of a usual window casing I4, the attachment being eifected by the use of screws if desired.

Extended horizontally between the brackets is a Carriage or top rail I6 having at its (righthand) one extremity a pin and slot; engagement Il--IS with a pivotal membery I5 on bracket I2 with which the carriage may be supportably'engaged or disengaged by a simple sliding o1' translation in an axial direction toward and away from the bracket I2.

At the opposite (left-hand) end of the carriage I6 is a roller and mounting housing I8 (Figs. 1 and 2) pivota1lyattached to the end of the carriage by means of a stud sleeve 20 clamped or peened into the side wall 22 of housing I8 and into an upturned end wall 24 of the carriage I6.

Thus, the housing I8 is rotatable in a direction about the main Iaxis of the carriage. In point of fact the axis of the opening 2l and the axis of pivotation of the right-hand end of the carriage relative to its bracket I2 are in alignment or co-extensive, so that the carriage may be said to pivot about an axis 'through the payhole or sleeve 20 when the housing is held stationary in the manner hereinafter to be described. As seen in Figs. 3 and 4 particularly, the housing I8 is provided interiorly with a pairof rollers 26 and 28, the formery being disposed with its axis of pivotation vertical, while the latter (roller 28) rotates about a horizontal axis and is positioned beyond the forward edge ofthe bottom 23 between extended lopposite side wall portions -6I so as to expose the horizontal roller for passage thereover or control cords or chains 30 in order that the chains may pass around the vertical roller, through the pay-hole openings 2| in sleeve 2D, into the carriage for distribution over rollers I1 thereon, from whence the chains 30 descend for supporting engagement with blind slats 32. l

Manipulation of chains 3B is facilitated by the attachment thereto of a common pull-chain 34 by means of which the chains may be raised and lowered over the housing and carriage rollers to eifect a corresponding movement of the slats.

Preferably, the pivotal attachment of nous! ing I8 to the carriage I6 is such that there is a movement in an anti-clockwise direction, as

the rollers 26 and 28 and the chains.- There is to fall pivotally downward in the direction of the pull-chain 34. The reason for this will shortly appear.

'I'he brackets I Il and I2, generally speaking, may be provided with rectangularly disposed wall portions adapted to t ilush into the corner of the window casing.

Bracket I0, however, has a horizontally extended plate 36 with an angled end portion or flange 38 disposed in a vertical plane and provided with an elongated slot 40 extended in the direction of the axis of pivotation of the carriage I6 and positioned close to the upper horizontal surface of the seating plate 36. Spaced away from slot 40 in a direction transverse to the carriage axis (and hence to the axis of slot 40) is a second slot 42 in plate 36. 'I'his slot 42 is also somewhat elongated and has its long axis disposed substantially parallel to that of slot 40 and hence to the major axis of the carriage unit. It may be noted that slot 40 opens into a vertical plane while slot 42 opens into a-horizontal plane, but their respective axes are parallel. It is also to be pointed out that the rear slot 40 is very close to the horizontal top surface of the bed or seating plate-36. 'I'he importance of this feature will appear in the following paragraphs.

In Fig. 2, it will be observed that the housing I8 has its bottom wall 23 provided with a coextensive tail lug 50 and a depending forward or drop lug 52. The tail lug is stamped out in the formation of the housing and is of a length less than the length of the rear or tail slot 40. The drop lug 52 on the other hand is punched out of the bottom 23 with its major axis transverse to that of the second or forward drop slot 42, and being of a width along this axis adequate to permit the lug to drop easily into slot 42. Ihe shifting or axial translation of drop lug 52 in drop slot 42 is limited only by the thickness of the lug and the width of the tall lug 50 relative to the length of its slot 40. This is one of the important features of the invention.

The lengths of the tail slot 40 and drop slot 42 are dimensioned relative to their respective lugs to permit a limited amount of shifting or translation of the housing I8 (and hence the carriage I6) in the direction of the main long axis of the carriage unit, it being recalled that the right-hand end of carriage I6 is movably supported by its bracket I2 in a manner to permit such axial displacement.

One of the objects of this invention being the provision of a simple blind supporting structure which can readily be installed and which can be dismounted for cleaning purposes without the use of tools or special skill, it will be apparent that after the brackets I0 and I2 are in place, the carriage I6 can be mounted quite simply by moving its right-hand end toward bracket I2 and the pivoted arm I5 thereon so as to place the pins I9 into openings I1 in the carriage end wall. Thereafter the left-hand end of the carriage and housing I8 (now manually tilted as shown in Fig. 2) are swung into place on the seat or bearer plate 36 of bracket I0.

As the carriage is thus moved easily into place, the tail lug 50 moves naturally into its slot 40, and as soon as this happens, the rear bottom edge of the housing bears against the iiange 3 8, whereupon the backward movement of the carriage unit and housing is halted and the momentum thereof translated into a pivotal movement of the housing I8 about its sleeve stud 20 so that the bottom 23 of housing I8 quickly and Without noticeable effort falls down against the bearer plate 36 and the depending drop lug 52 naturally falls into its slot 42.

In the foregoing mounted position, it is again to be observed that the carriage I6 may be shifted or translated axially from left to right between the brackets I 6 and I2 by virtue of the disposition of lugs 5U and 52 in the axially elongated slots 40v and 42, thus variations in window casing width may be compensated.

Since clearances between the blind structure and window casing are desirably held to a minimum, it is an advantage also to have the housing I8 drop naturally because then the tail is pointed upwardly toward its goal as the left end of the carriage is moved into place and the tendency of the housing to pivot downwardly facilitates the registration of the pin and slot members.

In order to limit the pivoted movement of the housing I8 so as to avoid tangling the chains and to position the housing most advantageously for mounting, the inner collar portion of the sleeve stud 20 in wall 2I is provided with a vradially extensive stopping lug 56 against which the inner bottom surface of the housing will abut to limit pivotal movement of the same so that its movement in a clockwise direction will be stopped at the position shown in Fig. 2.

It will be apparent that the housing itself may assume a variety of forms and be constructed in various ways. In the illustrative embodiment, it includes the bottom wall 23 of substantially quadrangular shape and having a pair of oppositely disposed and integrally formed side walls 60, 6I, a rear end wall B2, a forward'open side 63, and a curved cover plate 64.

The roller 28 is pivoted between the extended side walls Gti-6I at a point beyond the forward edge of the bottom 23, and the bottom part of the curved cover plate 64 is provided with a pair of inturned ears 65 which are positioned adjacent the axial extremities of roller 28 to limit the swing of chains 30. The top edges of the side walls SII-6I and rear wall 62 are slotted to receive ears 66 on the cover plate. Likewise the cover plate 64 is slotted to receive ears 61 on the housing, only one screw 68, threaded into the xed spindle 69 of roller 26 being necessary to secure the cover plate 64 in place.

Having thus described the manner in which the several important objects of the invention are achieved, it will be evident that various modications and arrangements of the foregoing structure may be made without departing from the spirit and intent of the invention, and it is to be understood that all such changes are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a, Venetian blind, a carriage supported axially between opposite end brackets attached to a window casing or the like, one of said brackets having pin means extended in an axial direction toward said carriage and receivablein the axial end of the same, the other said bracket having a member with axially elongated slots therein, the corresponding end of said carriage having a pivoted member with lug means receivable in said last-mentioned slot-s, and said carriage being movable axially between said brackets.

2. In a Venetian blind, a carriage pivotally supported between a pair of brackets, one of said brackets having axially-directed pin and slot enaioaaec gagement` with one axial end of said carriage whereby the latter is free to shift in an axial direction, the other said bracket being provided with slots elongated in the direction of the pivotal axis of the carriage, and the latter having a pivoted member provided with pins receivable in said last-mentioned slots and movable therein in an axial direction to permit shifting of the carriag as aforesaid. 3. In a Venetian blind, an elongated blind-supporting carriage mounted between axial end brackets, one said bracket having axially extensive pin and slot supporting engagement with an axial end of said carriage to permit an axial shifting of the same relative to said bracket, the opposite end of said carriage having a member pivotable in a direction about the axis of the carriage, a second bracket disposed adjacent said last-mentioned pivotable member and supportably engaging the same by pin and axially elongated slot means extended laterally relative to the axis of pivotation of said pivotable member whereby said carriage may be axially shifted between said brackets.

4. In a Venetian blind, an elongated Slat-supporting carriage mounted for pivotal movement about its long axis between a pair of end brackets, one of said brackets having pin means extending axially into an end of said carriage and the latter being movable on said pin means in an axial direction, the other bracket of said pair having a horizontally disposed member with a vertical portion and having a slot disposed in each of the horizontal and vertical portions thereof, said carriage having pin means receivable in the slot portions of said last-mentioned other bracket andfreely movable in said slot portions in the direction of the axis of the carriage whereby the latter may be mounted in window casings of varying width.

5. In a blind structure, an elongated slat-supporting carriage and means for mounting said carriage for movement of the same in the direction of its long axis, said means including a pair of brackets. positioned at the axial extremities of the carriage and each having pin-and-slot engagement therewith, the said lslot parts being axially elongated and the said pins being movable in their respective slots in' an axial direction.

6. In a blind structure, an elongated Slat-supporting carriage and means for mounting said carriage for movement of the same in the direc- Cal the carriage and each having pin-and-slot en gagement therewith, the said slot parts being axially elongated and the said pins being movable in their respective slots in an axial direction, the pin means of one said bracket being extended in'an axial direction relative to said carriage, while the pin means of the other bracket of the pair is extended in a direction laterally of said axis.

1. In a blind structure, an elongated slat-supporting carriage and means for mounting said carriage for movement pivotally about its long axis and also longitudinally of said axis, said means including a pair of brackets positioned respectively at the axial extremities of the carriage, one said bracket having a pivoted member vnth axially extended pin means supportably engaging an axial end of the carriage and the latter being movable thereon toward and away from said bracket, said carriage having a pivoted member at its opposite axial end and movable in a direction about said axis, said pivotable member having pin members extended substantially at right angles to one another and laterally of the axis of said carriage, the other bracketl of said pair having axially elongated slots adapted to receive said last-mentioned pin members and permit movement thereof in the direction of the long axis of the carriage when the latter is shifted longitudinally.

' 8. In a blind structure, an elongated slat-supporting carriage and mounting means therefor including a bracket positioned at each of the axial extremities thereof, pin and slot means for mounting one end of said carriage on one of said brackets for movement relative thereto in an axial direction, said carriage having a roller housing pivotally attached to an opposite end of said carriage, the correspondingly positioned one of said brackets having a surface portion on which said housing is adapted to rest, together with pin and slot means on said housing and bracket for limiting the relative movement of the latter to the former in a direction lateral to the said carriage axis', but permitting such movement longitudinally of said axis.

9. In a blind structure, an elongated carriage,

1 slats suspended in spaced relation from said carand away from said bracket, a housing pivotally mounted on the opposite end of said carriage for movement in a direction around the axis thereof, said housing having a lug depending from the bottom thereof and a second lug `co-extensive with said bottom, a second bracket positioned at said last-mentioned end of the carriage and having a horizontal surface with a first lug-receiving aperture therein and also having a surface disposed vertically and having a second lug-receiving aperture, both of said last-mentioned apertures being elongated axially of said carriage and the latter being mounted with the said bottom of the housing seating upon said horizontal surface of the bracket with the said depending lug disposed in the first said apertureandthe said co-extensive lug disposed in the said second vertical aperture.

10. In a blind structure,- an elongated carriage, slats suspended in spaced relation from said carriage by elongated flexible members, and means for mounting said carriage for movement both along and about its long axis, said means including a first bracket positioned at one axial extremity of said carriage, a pivoted member on said bracket and having carriage supporting means extended therefrom axially toward said carriage and the latter slidably engaging said last-mentioned supporting means for movement toward and away from said bracket, a housing pivotally mounted on the opposite end of said carriage for movement in a direction around the axis thereof, said housing having a, lug depending from the bottom thereof and a second lug co-extensive with saidl bottom, a second bracket positioned at said last-mentioned end of the carriage and having a horizontal surface with a first lug-receiving aperture therein and also having a surface disposed vertically and having a second lug-receiving aperture, both of said last-mentioned apertures being elongated axially of said carriage and the latter being `mounted with the said bottom of the housing seating upon said horizontal surface of the bracket with the said depending lug disposed in the first said aperture and the said co-extensive lug disposed in the said second vertical aperture, said housing having roller means over Which said exible suspending members pass.

11. In a blind, an elongated carriage, blind members suspended by chains from said carriage, a rst bracket disposed at one axial end of said carriage, means on said bracket supportably engaging the carriage for both pivotal and axial movement, a box-like housing pivotally attached to the opposite end of said carriage and movable in a direction about the axis of the latter, means for limiting the pivotal movement of the housing, a bracket having a surface on which said housing is adapted to rest and having an axially extensive opening in said surface together with a portion extended at an angle to said surface and provided With a second axially extensive opening, said housing having roller means on which said chains are arranged to move to raise and lower said blind members, said housing further having lug means receivable in said rst and second openings whereby said housing may move in an axial direction on said bracket surface, but not laterally thereon.

12. In a blind, an elongated carriage, slats movably suspended in spaced relation therefrom, means for supporting one end of said carriage for movement in a direction around its long axis and also longitudinally of said axis, a roller housing pivotally attached to said carriage at its opposite extremity and movable in a direction about said axis, a bracket having a horizontally extended surface with an angularly extended edge angesaid surface having an axially extensive drop opening therein, said flange also having an axial tail opening positioned close to said horizontal surface, said housing having a bottom portion adapted to rest on said horizontal surface and said bottom being provided with a depending drop lug and a co-extensively directed tail lug, the latter being receivable in said flange opening and said drop lug being receivable in said drop opening by pivotal movement of said housing downwardly when said tail lug is positioned in said tall slot.

WILLIAM WADE.

EDWIN NORTH. 

